


Breath

by CaptainDemetrios



Series: Inquisitor Nettie AU [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Chronic Illness, Gen, Inquisitor AU, Paranoia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-09 23:24:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13491999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainDemetrios/pseuds/CaptainDemetrios
Summary: Inquisitor Nettie tries to hide his illness from the Inquisition.





	Breath

**Author's Note:**

> Nero, Val, and Ethalan are YouMarriedAnIcarus's

Nettie had skirted around an explanation of the red lyrium glowing in his veins. He had no interest in revealing that he had been a slave for most of his life, even if he still couldn’t drop the Tevene accent. When the Seeker had interrogated him about it- and then later Varric had asked tentatively- Nettie simply said it was an infection after an accident some time ago, and he didn’t know how or why the lyrium affected him the way it did. That wasn’t too far from the truth.

 

What he didn’t tell them, was the lyrium in his blood was causing his lungs to slowly harden into stone, or that it was just as much poison in his veins than anyone else’s. When he wasn’t wracked with hot flashes or chills and shakes, when every bit of his body wasn’t burning in pain, he frequently struggled for breath. 

 

The last thing Nettie wanted was anyone in the Inquisition discovering this. He was already watched so much, he didn’t need even more eyes on him, micromanaging his every move.

 

It meant Nettie avoided healers and apothecaries, and pressed on in quests well beyond his limits. It meant several days in a row when he was wheezing and coughing through the icy, thin air of Haven, he said it was just a small cold. It meant Nettie would hide behind buildings when he was nearly doubled over struggling for breath. It meant on quests through the Hinterlands Nettie could no longer make it up mountains.

 

It wasn’t long before the problem came to a head. 

 

Nettie was coughing and wheezing so much, his advisors couldn’t get through their reports.

 

“Perhaps we should call a healer, Inquisitor. You look pale…” Josephine pressed. 

 

“N-no, I-“ He was interupted by a cough. “I’m fine-“ a wheeze, a hack, “it’ just a cold, I’ll-“ He was cut off by a coughing fit then.

 

“It doesn’t sound like you can breathe, ser, I don’t think this is a cold.” Cullen watched with worry too, and Nettie  _ hated  _ that stare.

 

“I—“ He couldn’t get a word in, and before long he couldn’t get a cough out either.

 

“Inquisitor?” Leliana grabbed his arm. Nettie clutched at his chest. Now not even the wheeze was getting out. His knees buckled.

 

“Inquisitor! You, run for a healer!” Cullen called behind him, catching Nettie’s other arm. His chest burned and every muscle strained. Nettie’s world became murky. 

 

“Move, let me see him—!” A voice Nettie knew, a voice that shouldn’t be here.

 

“Wha— I’m sorry, who are you? We can’t just let you—“

 

“Get out of his way!” A gruffer voice, also familiar, and Cullen and Leliana were pulled away from his sight. 

 

A quanri face filled his view, the face of his brother. 

 

“I’ve got you now, Nettie, it’s alright…”

 

Nettie lost consciousness.

 

Nettie woke again in the healer’s hut. He ached all over, his head and chest especially. He didn’t want to move ever again. He closed his eyes.

 

“Doesn’t feel great, does it? Almost suffocating to death will do that to you.” 

 

Nettie’s eyes snapped back open, and he looked over to see Nero, sitting with one leg crossed over the other, in a chair next to the bed. 

 

“What the hell are you doing here?”

 

“Is that any way to greet your family? Especially after saving your life?” Nero pouted. Nettie struggled to sit up and let Nero pull him into a tight hug. “What the hell were you thinking? How did you let it get that bad? Why didn’t anyone know?” 

 

Nettie pulled away. “It isn’t any of their business, Nero—“

 

“Yes it is! If your life is at stake it’s everyone’s business!”

 

“I don’t want everyone staring at me like I have one foot in the grave—“

 

“If we hadn’t arrived when we did your entire body would be in the grave!”

 

“Nero!”

 

“Nettie!” The quanri just met his gaze, just as hard and stubborn, but also filled with a deep concern and love that cut through Nettie’s hard-headedness easily. “You could’ve died. You can’t ignore your condition like that. You can’t have survived the Conclave only to die in Haven”

 

“Nero… I wrote to you as soon as I could.” He embraced Nero again, his brother by all but blood, who had saved his life more than once now.  

 

“We didn’t know if you were still alive.” Nero whispered.

 

“You know me, too stubborn to die,” He smiled “I’m glad you’re here.”

 

“Like we were gonna let you fight a hole in the sky all by yourself.” Nero pressed a kiss to Nettie’s forehead (something only Nero could ever get away with) and finally released him from the hug.

 

“Wait, we?” Nettie said, just as Ethalan and Val came in.

 

“Ah, he’s awake” Val said.

 

“Good,” Ethalan said calmly, then punched Nettie’s arm as soon as he’d crossed the room. “You ever do that again I’ll kill you myself.”

 

“Ow!” Nettie pouted and rubbed his arm. “Can you wait until I’m at least out of bed to assault me?”

 

“You’re lucky I didn’t let Val do it,” He huffed and sat next ot him on the bed.

 

“I do appreciate that,” Nettie sighed. 

 

——

 

The conversation with Josephine was easier with Nero and Ethalan there. Even if Ethalan barely spoke, Nero made it clear accommodations Nettie would need to best stabilize his condition. It was uncomfortable but at least Nettie didn’t have to insist on it himself. 

 

Though there was still much to do, Nettie stayed in Haven the next day at Nero’s insistence. The Inquisition healers tried to arrange to see him regularly, but Nero chased them off, and Ethalan snuck him out. 

 

With little work to do, Nettie gave them a tour of Haven. There were usually eyes on him wherever he went, but it was worse now. The hair on the back of his neck pickled as he heard every soldier they passed stop to whisper. Nettie’s steady stream of chatter stuttered to a halt when they passed the training grounds, and several of them stopped their sparring. 

 

“Nettie?” Nero prodded gently. 

 

“I’m..” Nettie turned quickly away from the training ground, from Cullen staring as much as his soldiers, but when he did he just saw another pair, whispering. He heard everyone whispering.

 

“They’re talking about me. Everyone’s…”

 

“You’re the Herald now, people talk when you come by. It could be about anything” Ethalan said carefully. 

 

“They know I’m sick, they’re…” Nettie’s chest felt tight again, breath struggling against the cold air. 

 

“Nettie, take a breath.” Ethalan took his arm. “You need to breathe.”

 

“I can hear them whispering…!” 

 

Ethalan and Nero exchanged a glance and tugged Nettie into a nearby shack. 

 

“I..”

 

“Take a breath, Nettie. You know this is just paranoia, you know if they’re whispering it’s only because of us, because people from your mysterious past are here no in plain view, and one of them is qunari, and another is human. They aren’t whispering about your illness, they don’t know. Your advisors aren’t gossiping about you, they’re concerned for your health” Ethalan spoke evenly, in a low voice. He was careful not to condescend but he didn’t give room for argument either. 

 

Nettie was humiliated. He took a breath like Ethalan said, and he felt the knot in his chest begin to ease. His face grew hot.

 

“Sorry, I… I’m..” He let out another breath and covered his face with his hands.

 

“It’s ok, lethallan,” Ethalan squeezed his shoulder. “Your body and mind is still exhausted from yesterday. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”’

 

Another breath. 

 

“This cold mountain air is crap for my lungs,” Nettie muttered.

 

“Yeah, next time there’s a hole ripped in the sky, we’ll make sure it’s farther north,” Nero snorted.

 

“Can’t we just move the Breach somewhere else?” Nettie sighed. Nero laughed, and they headed out again to complete their tour, Ethalan with an arm around Nettie’s shoulders.

 

He still coughed and wheezed, but Nettie thought it was much easier to breathe with his family at his side.


End file.
